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Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 Senate tie on Tuesday, advancing a Republican-backed bill aimed at codifying spending cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The bill now moves forward to debate, with a final vote possible as early as Wednesday.
Three Republican senators, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined all Democrats and two independents in opposing the motion to proceed, defying President Donald Trump’s push to move the legislation forward.
The bill, initially proposing $9.4 billion in rescissions, was reduced to $9 billion after Republicans chose to preserve $400 million in HIV/AIDS funding through the PEPFAR program, which has long received bipartisan support.
The adjustment boosted the bill’s chances of passage, as lawmakers weighed the implications of missing Friday’s deadline. If not signed by then, current spending levels established during the Biden administration would remain in place for certain foreign aid programs and public media funding.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously signaled his reluctance to approve further changes to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget-reconciliation package after already conceding to Senate revisions. Johnson and other GOP leaders have argued that the DOGE bill is a necessary move to reduce the national debt, which now exceeds $36 trillion.
“When you’ve got a $36 trillion debt, we have to do something to get spending under control,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he would vote in favor of the measure after working with the White House to redirect funds from Green New Deal programs to maintain grants for tribal radio stations. “We were able to find Green New Deal money that could be reallocated to continue grants to tribal radio stations without interruption,” Rounds wrote on social media.
Still, concerns remained among a few Republican holdouts, particularly regarding the lack of clarity surrounding which programs would be affected. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes over 70 percent of its funding to more than 1,500 local radio and television stations, could face significant reductions under the plan as the GOP seeks to cut funding for PBS and NPR before Friday’s deadline.